Governor Howard Dean to Headline Healthy Hospitals Conference Hosted by the Association of Climate Change Officers

WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association of Climate Change Officers ("ACCO") announced today that Dr. Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, head of the Democratic National Committee and Presidential candidate, will keynote a gathering of a distinguished group of healthcare professionals and thought leaders at its upcoming conference, Healthy Hospitals: Changing Climate in Healthcare Facilities and Institutions.  The full-day event takes place on September 29, 2010 at George Washington University (GW) in Washington, DC and will be co-presented by Practice Greenhealth, the Sustainable Packaging Council, the United States Green Building Council, ENERGY STAR Healthcare and the George Washington University Institute for Sustainability Research, Education, and Policy ("GW").

The healthcare community ranks amongst the top sectors in terms of gross energy intensity in commercial buildings.  The U.S. EPA estimates that 30% of the healthcare sector's current energy use -- or $1.95 billion -- could be reduced without sacrificing quality of care through a shift toward energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

The Healthy Hospitals workshop will focus on topics such as the role of green building design and retrofits, facilities management, use of environmentally sound products/procedures and supply chain protocols, and their impact on improving patient health and response to treatment, as well as reducing energy consumption, operational costs, and greenhouse gas emissions.

"ACCO facilitates collaboration amongst subject matter experts, our members and our partners to address the very real business, economic and operational risks and opportunities related to energy and climate change," said Daniel Kreeger, ACCO's Executive Director.  "We're excited to collaborate with such exceptional partners to bring together the best and brightest in the healthcare community with recognized leaders such as Governor Howard Dean."

In addition to Governor Dean, the program will also feature senior officials and thought leaders from organizations including the U.S. Veterans Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Kaiser Permanente, Bayer, Waste Management, Health Care Without Harm, GreenBlue, George Washington University and The Johns Hopkins University.

"GW is very pleased to host this exciting and important conference.  At the GW Institute for Sustainability Research, Education, and Policy, we recognize the vital role of collaboration in advancing sustainability in our organizations and throughout society, and congratulate ACCO in organizing and leading this gathering.  We hope that focusing attention on the nexus of healthcare, energy, and climate will highlight the need for an urgent response to some of the most critical sustainability issues of our time," said Mark Starik, Director of GW's Institute for Sustainability Research, Education, and Policy.  

The Association of Climate Change Officers is a 501(c)(6) non-profit membership organization for executives and officials worldwide in industry, government, academia and the non-profit community. ACCO's mission is to advance the knowledge and skills of those dedicated to developing and directing climate change strategies in the public and private sectors, and to establish a flexible and robust forum for collaboration between climate change officers. For more information about ACCO, please visit www.accoonline.org.

SOURCE The Association of Climate Change Officers